Jared Porter, hired as the New York Mets’ general manager last month, admitted Monday to sending lewd texts to a female journalist five years ago.
According to ESPN, Porter, at the time serving as the Chicago Cubs’ director of professional scouting, sent the reporter more than 60 texts, some of which included compliments and offers to meet her in person in different cities. Another text included a photo of pants with a bulging groin area.
The woman, who is not from the United States, ignored his texts after that, per the report, but he later sent the same bulge photo as well as one with an erect, naked penis.
Porter acknowledged sending the texts in an interview with ESPN, adding, “The more explicit ones are not of me. Those are like, kinda like joke-stock images.”
Per ESPN, he apologized to the woman by text in 2016 after she stated that the earlier texts were “extremely inappropriate, very offensive, and getting out of line.”
The woman, who is no longer a journalist, told ESPN that she previously kept quiet about the matter due to fears of a backlash in her native country. She added that she does not plan to pursue legal action against Porter.
She said to ESPN via an interpreter, “My number one motivation is I want to prevent this from happening to someone else. Obviously he’s in a much greater position of power. I want to prevent that from happening again. The other thing is I never really got the notion that he was truly sorry.
“I know in the U.S. there is a women’s empowerment movement. But in (my home country), it’s still far behind. Women get dragged through the mud if your name is associated with any type of sexual scandal. Women are the ones who get fingers pointed at them. I don’t want to go through the victimization process again. I don’t want other people to blame me.”
Mets president Sandy Alderson gave a statement to ESPN: “I have spoken directly with Jared Porter regarding events that took place in 2016 of which we were made aware tonight for the first time. Jared has acknowledged to me his serious error in judgment, has taken responsibility for his conduct, has expressed remorse and has previously apologized for his actions.
“The Mets take these matters seriously, expect professional and ethical behavior from all of our employees, and certainly do not condone the conduct described in your story. We will follow up as we review the facts regarding this serious issue.”
Porter, 41, was the Diamondbacks’ senior vice president and assistant general manager just prior to getting the Mets’ GM job, having spent four years in the Arizona front office. In addition to working for the Cubs, he also had a stint as the Boston Red Sox’s director of professional scouting.
–Field Level Media
